GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Top experts from the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York are in Guyana to provide training to 400 physicians here to help them better detect and treat patients with long-COVID.
Health Minister Dr. Frank AnthonyGenerally, between 10 to 20 percent of persons affected by COVID-19 will have persistent symptoms months after falling ill. This is referred to as long-COVID syndrome.
While many Guyanese have recovered from the deadly respiratory disease, many are still experiencing symptoms.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do is to educate physicians so that they can recognize these signs and symptoms, and be able to appropriately treat these patients,” Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said during his COVID-19 update on Wednesday.
President Irfaan Ali had engaged officials of the hospital during a recent visit to Guyana, requesting that they assist doctors in understanding long-COVID.
The first training session was held on Wednesday, and it included discussions on post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister Anthony said the training will allow physicians to provide better treatment options.
“I think this is a very good start-up session, and after the discussions, I’m sure that the local physicians would be more aware of long-COVID, what to look for and how to treat long-COVID,” he said.
Symptoms of Long-COVID range from mild to severe. They include fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, headaches, depression, anxiety and memory loss.
Since the pandemic began in Guyana, the Ministry of Health has established a multidisciplinary team at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where persons experiencing long-COVID symptoms can be tested and treated.
